Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more particularly, to endoscopic suturing and/or stitching devices.
Background of Related Art
In many surgical procedures, it is often necessary to suture bodily organs or tissue. It is especially challenging during endoscopic surgery because of the small openings through which the suturing of bodily organs or tissues must be accomplished. Hand-held and hand-actuated or hand-powered endoscopic stitching devices have been developed to facilitate the suturing process. For a detailed discussion of exemplary hand-held and hand-actuated or hand-powered endoscopic stitching devices, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,344, filed on Aug. 19, 1994, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,628,545, filed on Jun. 10, 2009, the entire content of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
However, a need still exists for improvements in suturing devices to further facilitate and expedite the suturing process.